Ambassador of Twilight: Fantasy Realm
by Two Words
Summary: An Agent of Chaos makes his way into Gensokyo, with intent to destroy the border. The Scythe-Wielder and his partner enter soon after, hunting down the Agent. Everything seems to be shaping up to be a normal, and uneventful mission, when Murphy's Law takes effect...
1. Chapter 1

Darkness. Complete darkness was the only thing either of the two could perceive. No light pierced the ceaseless black, and nothing existed to stimulated the other senses. Both of them remained unaffected, as this was a common occurrence. This was the world between worlds, not to be mistaken for the void, and the last place before they began their next mission. Time was lost to the complete lack of stimulation, so it was either seconds, or hours, before one of them spoke up, and drove off the oppressive atmosphere, if only temporarily.

"You ready for this?" the first one spoke, its voice holding a determination that said 'Let's do this!'

_As always, came the reply_, in calmer, more composed and ethereal voice.

"Remember, this world has a border, so this may sting a bit." the first one said an unneeded warning.

_I'm more worried about the effect the intense amount of magic concentrated in this world may have on my body. Or yours. We haven't been somewhere this magic concentrated ever. And we've been in terrible places._ The second one listed off more relevant worries.

"All right then. Into the rabbit hole we go. 3... 2... 1..." the first one counted down. He finished the countdown, and there was a brief flash of white, accompanied by ringing ears, a tingling sensation, and a metallic smell and taste. This was a brief sensory overload, caused by going from nothingness into reality. Their senses cleared, and they found themselves standing in a forest, shadows cast from the sun directly above dappling the ground around them.

"You know, I never found a map of this place," the first one said. He was a boy of average height, clad completely in black. He donned a long greatcoat and a hood. His greatcoat was closed, and had a short cape characteristic of its era covering his shoulders. His hood was lowered, as was typical during missions. This was Switch-Scythe, or Switch for short. He was the Ambassador of Twilight, part of the mysterious group known as the Scythe-Wielders, who protect the middleground between Chaos and Control.

_I always assumed it would be nigh impossible to map this world._ The second one responded. He was a large grey Dire wolf, covered in heavy, silver-coloured metal armour. The metal of his armour was known as Argentum Mortem, or Death Silver, an incredibly strong and surprisingly light metal. It got its name from the fact that it can be used to make durable and absurdly thin and sharp weapons. The wolf was Lobo, partner to Switch and much older than him. His training with the Scythe-Wielders had enhanced his already powerful mind, so he was able to communicate telepathically with people and animals alike, among other things.

"We could always give it a try," Switch suggested.

_We do have a mission to attend to,_ Lobo reminded.

"Right... What's the official report?" he never bothered to read it himself.

_Will you ever read it when it is given to you?_ Lobo's voice held a prick of annoyance at this constant behaviour.

"Maybe someday," he responded half-heartedly.

_Fine... The Nightside has nothing on this world. This magic concentration is wreaking havoc on my mind... Anyway...  
__Chaos has made another attempt on a world, this world, and has sent in an Agent. It's suspected that they will attempt to destroy the border and unleash the Youkai here into the outside, or destroy this land completely in the process. Either way, their goal of spreading Chaos will be completed._ Lobo reported.

"I've done my research, so I'm not very worried. Unless the Agent decides to follow the spell card rules, he'll probably get destroyed by one of the more powerful residents."

_And... If he does decide to follow the spell... card rules?_ A hint of weariness showed in his voice.

"You okay? If he does follow the rules, we'll just have to beat him at his own game... Or the game he adopted... Whatever. Either way, it will end in us beating the shit out of him."

_I wish I had... your optimism..._ Lobo panted.

"You sound terrible. Worse than the mach 4 incident. We should probably get you out of this world," worry began showing in the Scythe-Wielder's voice.

_I am fine,_ Lobo insisted.

"Is that so~" a childish voice nearly yelled in his ear.

"HOLY SH-"

_**WHAM**_

* * *

Darkness. Impenetrable darkness was all Switch could see when he came to moments later. None of his other senses were stifled though, so he was still in this world.

"Didn't even let me finish yelling," he grumbled, "What the hell happened anyway?" He asked to himself, when something began gnawing on his arm. "That's not a very nice thing to do." He said to whoever was chewing on him, "besides, I don't taste very good." The gnawing continued for a moment, and then ceased.

"Bleh," the voice spat, "You don't taste good at all." The voice sounded childlike, Switch noted. It was probably the same voice from earlier.

"Told you so," he taunted. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Looking for something to eat," she replied, a growling stomach echoing her answer.

"What happened earlier?" he questioned, hoping she could shed some light on his problem.

"I smelled something that could have been food and flew to it. Then I crashed into something. Then I tasted you! You didn't taste good though..."

"I think we've covered that already," he attempted to look around, thinking and analyzing the situation. _Just as I thought, can't see shit._ He began speaking up, "Hey, can you do something about the darkness?"

"I don't like the sun though..." she complained.

"I have more pressing matters at the moment. Like where my partner is."

"I don't wanna..." she wasn't letting up.

"I'll find you something to eat if you let it up," Switch turned to bribery.

"Okay~" she retracted her ball of darkness. Switch looked around, pleased that he could see again. Sitting next to him was a small girl in a black skirt, with a black vest and red tie over a white shirt. In her short blonde hair, a red ribbon was tied. Lobo was nowhere in sight.

"Did he take off or something?" he voiced his thoughts, half to himself.

"There was a lot of howling and stomping, and then he was gone!" she answered. _Makes sense, Lobo can really move when he wants to._

"What's your name, anyway? You can call me Switch," it was best to get on friendly terms, even if he already knew who she was.

"That's a funny name!" she giggled, he ignored the comment, "My name is Rumia."

"Well then Rumia, you're good at smelling. You are going to be my nose and help me find Lobo before he does any serious damage," Switch decided.

"Who's Lobo?" she asked, fatigue creeping into her voice.

"My partner, he's a wolf. You heard him a little bit ago. Go on, sniff him out," he prompted.

"I feel dizzy..." she began shaking slightly.

"Oh, right. You don't like sunlight. Alright, bring up that ball of darkness. I don't need my sight anymore." he said. She complied, and soon Switch couldn't see anymore. That was irrelevant though, as he had other senses he could use. "Now find Lobo." Normally, Switch wouldn't need help to find Lobo. But due to his recent freakout, Lobo was masking his presence, hiding himself from Switch's sixth sense. _What's gotten into that wolf?_ Soon, Rumia began taking her first steps towards whatever she smelt. Switch had no option but to follow. He did expedite the process somewhat though, by steering Rumia out of the way of trees. Time seemed to pass slowly, with no end to their ordeal in sight. Switch was beginning to grow a bit desperate, and so began thinking of something that would help._ Lobo is moving too quickly for us to catch him at this snail's pace. I can move fast enough to catch up to him, but Rumia cannot, and I need her to track him. There's a simple solution here._

"Rumia," Switch got her attention, "The path has been more or less fairly straight, right?"

"I think so..." she answered hesitantly.

"Well then, here's what we're gonna do." he stepped forward and lifted her onto his back, "I am going to start running, and you are going to point in the direction the scent is coming from. Got it?"

"But how are you gonna see where I'm pointing?" Confusion was evident in her voice.

"Same way I've been guiding you away from trees! Now hold on for your life!" Switch took off sprinting, hoping he wasn't moving too fast for her. Amazingly, Rumia managed to keep track of the scent, as Switch weaved through the trees at an unholy speed, following her surprisingly good directions. True to his thoughts, he soon began to hear sounds coming from outside the darkness. Howling and crashing seemed to fill the forest, but he couldn't pinpoint the location._ Why can't I lock onto the sound!?_ It sounded so near, yet he couldn't manage it. _Right, wolf howls! Wolves use echoes to confuse their prey and other wolves!_ That must have been Lobo then.

"We're almost to China!" Rumia yelled cheerfully into his ear.

"What does China have to do with anything!? I haven't run over an ocean yet!" Switch worried for a moment that her directions were wrong.

"She always plays with us!" she cheered.

"I don't think we're on the same page here!" The sounds were drawing nearer. Switch skidded to a halt and set Rumia down near a large rock. "Stay here," he ordered, "I'll be back soon enough." She was too busy cheering about a China to disagree. Switch shot out of the bubble of darkness, and halted immediately from the sight before him. They were no longer in the forest, a fact Switch had already known for quite some time. In front of him was a large lake covered in a very thin mist. At the center of the lake was an island holding a very large, Victorian era mansion surrounded by a wall. _Talk about security measures._ A bridge spanning the lake stood directly in front of him, and across the bridge was the gate to the mansion. In front of that gate stood a woman wearing a green outfit of some sort. It was too far for Switch to see clearly. The gatekeeper was on high alert, the sounds of the crashing and howling catching even her attention. A shape erupted out of the forest from Switch's right. "Halt!" the woman across the lake shouted. She had quite a voice, Switch noted. The figure didn't break pace.

"Halt!" she ordered again. The figure just continued moving, tail swaying behind.

"Have it your way then!" The figure was halfway across the bridge, "Fiery Attack: Roc Killing Fist!" she shouted. A moment later, when the figure was almost upon her, she unleashed an incredibly colourful, earth-shaking stomp, stopping it dead in its tracks. She followed up with an equally bright shoulder smash, launching it into the air a bit. The figure seemed to hang there for a moment, and she finished up with a massive, rainbow-coloured punch upwards. A loud, metallic ringing sound accompanied the figure being flung high into the air.

"Holy shit..." Switch couldn't help but be amazed at the height it reached, and became oblivious to the surroundings. He began unconsciously walking forward a bit.

"So you want some too! Chi Sign: Earth Dragon Sky Dragon Kick!" He became aware of what was said a moment too late.

"OH SH-"

_**WHAM**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own neither Touhou Project, the property of ZUN, nor do I own Ambassador of Twilight, property of MrHost56. I am, however, an official story writer for AoT. **I would have put this in the first chapter, but it was exactly 2000 words, and I didn't want to ruin it.

I plan on writing this in arcs, where I will write the entirety of an arc, then mass post it at once, so expect infrequent updates. Enjoy

* * *

Switch awoke to see the gatekeeper leaning over him.

"Oh good, you're awake. Are you okay?" she asked. Now that she was closer, Switch had a better look. She was red-haired and wearing a green chinese outfit of some sort, a beret with a star was atop her head.

"Other than the new footprint in my face, I've never been better," he responded sarcastically, sitting up.

"Sorry about that, but I cannot allow people to enter the Mansion without permission."

"I wasn't trying to enter it, I was watching the other guy you punched fly. Speaking of which, what happened to him?" Switch asked, standing up after finally getting his bearings._ At least magic-aided physical attacks do less permanent damage._ He felt his spine click back into place.

"He's fine, Sakuya's out getting clothes for him."

"Clothes?" he raised one eyebrow.

"That's the weird thing, except for armour that looked like it didn't fit him, he was completely naked." she answered.

"That is strange... What did he look like?" Switch felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Like a normal Wolf Youkai. Tail, ears, I think he had grey fur." she recalled.

"Shit... I need to see him." Switch began running for the mansion.

"Stop!" the gatekeeper called after him, "You can't go in!" she gave chase, Switch ignored her. Just inside the gate was where she had almost caught him. Almost. He had just about reached the door, and she almost had a grasp on his coat, when there was a loud popping sound, and the two were surrounded by knives.

"Well shit," Switch managed to say before becoming a pincushion.

* * *

The pair sat just outside the gate. Switch still plucking knives out of his stomach, and the gatekeeper looking like a scolded puppy. The gatekeeper had been chastised severely for allowing an intruder past, and Switch had received a lot more knives in response to his trespassing attempt.

"Sorry about charging in," Switch apologised, "I wasn't thinking straight." The gatekeeper didn't reply. "My name's Switch-Scythe, but you can call me Switch for short, what's your name?" he tried to break the tension.

"Hong Meiling," she replied after a short while.

"Nice to meet you Meiling. I've never received a foot to the face as a greeting!" this elicited a slight chuckle. "So how many gatekeepers does this mansion have?" he asked.

"Just me," she replied.

"How does that work? Don't you need to sleep?"

"I nap occasionally."

"Don't people get past you when you're napping?"

"Not yet!" she boasted, "I always wake up in time to beat them!"

"Impressive. Whenever I nap I go into an unshakable coma..."

"Being the only gatekeeper will do that. I can't sleep unless I'm standing or sitting."

"I imagine that's gotten you into a lot of trouble."

"Not really, Sakuya understands that I need to sleep occasionally. Just as long as I don't do it too excessively."

"Oh crap! I completely forgot!" Switch realised.

"What?"

"I left a certain ball of darkness over by a rock. I'll be right back!" he shot off.

"What?" Meiling was left confused. A moment later, Sakuya appeared by her side carrying the Youkai from earlier.

"This thing went insane upon waking, and rampaged down the halls, waking the Mistress. She's not happy about this and would like to speak to you and your little friend." Sakuya informed, "Where is he anyway?"

"Here!" Switch showed up at that moment, carrying a sleeping Rumia on his back. "Hey, is that the person from earlier?" He pointed to the wolf Sakuya was carrying.

"Yes," Sakuya answered coldly, "Now come with me, the Mistress wishes to speak with you."

"I'm going to go with no," Switch started backing away slowly, "Damn it." He appeared inside the mansion along with Meiling. "At least leave her out of it!" he pointed to the still sleeping Rumia.

"Maybe," she responded.

"Can I least have the wolf back?"

"No, I can't trust you."

"I'll trade you," he held out Rumia.

"No thanks," she said slowly, as if she wasn't sure if he was being serious. "Step this way, the Mistress is waiting for you." She opened the door and the group stepped into the room. It was far too dark to see anything._ Alright,_ Switch began thinking as fast as he could,_ I need to avoid pissing off the Mistress anymore. Try and speak respectfully, agree to whatever demands she has, and above all,** don't do anything stupid**_**,** he emphasised the last part. _I also need to see if that wolf Sakuya is holding is, in fact, Lobo. As long as I get on the Mistress's good side, I should be fine in that regard._

"So," a voice began speaking, snapping Switch out of his thoughts, "You are the owner of the wolf who disrupted my sleep." This statement caught Switch off guard.

"H-How did you know?"

"Your fates are intertwined for as far as I can see."

"You can see fate?" he always assumed that was a legend.

"Of course I can. Now, who are you and how do you intend to pay for what your wolf has done?"

"I am Switch-Scythe, the Ambassador of Twilight and Angel of Steel. My offered payment is whatever you wish."

"Well then..." she went into thought. Switch wished that it wasn't so dark in this room. He couldn't see the Lady of the Mansion, nor could he survey the area to determine the best course of action. He did know the size and shape of the room based on the echoes though. "We'll decide this through a duel. If you win, you go free with your wolf. If you lose, you will serve me indefinitely. I presume you know the spell card rules."

"Wait... Hold on a moment. I'm in this world on very important business, I can't just stay here forever." Switch objected.

"You will participate in this battle, or you won't leave this mansion alive." she threatened. _Shit... I need to stay on her good side, but I can't afford to lose this battle. I don't want to use my full power against her either. Decisions..._

"I'm familiar with the spell card rules, but I have no spell cards," Switch hoped that would defuse the situation a bit.

"Oh? Well then, let's have a good old-fashioned fight, no spell cards. You should be able to hold your own. You're not human after all. Sakuya! Lights!" Moments later, the room was illuminated by the glow of the torches. In the center of the room stood a small girl, who looked to be no older than twelve. She wore a reddish-pink dress and mob cap with a red ribbon covered some of her light blue hair. From her back sprouted a pair of batlike wings. If he remembered correctly, this was the infamous vampire, the Scarlet Devil, Remilia Scarlet. He turned and handed Rumia to Meiling._ This is going to get rough..._

He turned around to fight just as Remilia drove her fist into his sternum, shattering his ribs and sending him flying into the wall._ Damn it_. He pushed himself off the wall and leapt right back at her. Faster than he thought she could move, she slipped to the side of him and slammed her foot into his back. He went off balance for a moment, and instead of trying to regain it, he jumped to the wall. From behind him came the whispering of feet, and the light flapping of wings. He leapt off the wall straight back at the sounds, managing to tackle and grab her around the waist, driving the breath out of her. He threw her up, and with a quick flip, kicked her towards the ceiling. She caught herself and pushed off the ceiling, slamming into his shoulder in a ferocious red blur. He felt his collarbone and an arm snap. He grabbed onto her with his free arm and threw her towards the wall. _This isn't going well._ Using the temporary respite from her daze, he focused his healing on his arm, feeling the bone click itself back into place and mend. He was about to focus it on his ribs as well, when a sudden, powerful burst of psychic energy caused everyone in the room to falter. _Damn it, not now._ To his right, Remilia was recovering from impacting the wall, and to his left, the psychic burst caused Sakuya to drop the wolf, who started charging him._ So that's how it's gonna be._ Time slowed to a near standstill as he sped up. The wolf remained the only one still moving._ So that really is you, Lobo._ He struck the wolf with a quick uppercut,_ Too bad you're not used to fighting in a human's body_. A massive boom resounded through the room as he slowed down and tripped Remilia with a sweep kick. He sped up again and kicked the wolf through the wall. _This is the power of the Scythe-Wielders, the power I didn't want to use in this fight._ He slowed down and caught the punch Remilia threw at him. He threw her through the hole made by Lobo, and rushed through it at full speed, grabbing both of them by the necks before they could move. He jumped back into the original room, and finished the fight off with a massive headbutt to the wolf, rendering him unconscious. Remilia struggled in his grasp. The remaining bones clicked back together.

"Sorry," he apologised, and set her down, "I really need spell cards to make this fair."

"This fight isn't through yet!" she spat, more than a little angry. Just before she could attack again, she was interrupted.

"Remi~" a childish voice echoed into the room, "What's going on? Why's it so loud?" A little girl who looked to be about six or so stepped into the room. She wore a red dress and vest with a pink shirt underneath. A pink mob cap rested on her short blonde hair, which was tied in a ponytail to the side. The strangest part about her though, was her wings, which looked to be crystals hanging off of twisted metal. The scene did not evade her perception. The room was a bit torn up, both Switch and Remilia looked battered, and a passed out wolf lied at their feet. She stared for a few moments. "I wanna play too!" It then that she looked at the black clad boy. "You're one of them!" she seemed unusually happy.

"What?" Switch was completely confused.

"You're one of them! I saw you when I broke the wall!"

"The wall?" _What does she mean by that?_

"The wall between worlds! I broke that and saw you! You're one of them! There was two of you! Not very long ago! You were coming into this world!"

_Wait... Saw us come into this world? Saw us come into this world! What else does she know!?_ "How do you know!?" he screwed up repeating his thoughts.

"I broke the wall!" she repeated. "Now I wanna play!"

"Not right now! I have very important busi-" A howling interrupted him. _Knockouts never last long..._ He turned to the wolf, who was beginning to stand. Insanity and anger danced in his eyes. There was another large burst of psychic energy. This was directed at Switch though, instead of just spreading everywhere. The force of the attack hit him like a train. A severe headache struck with the attack, causing his vision to fade and his ears to ring. He lunged forward through the blur and struck the wolf with a quick punch, which halted the attack momentarily. He quickly set up his mental shields again. The wolf struck again, shattering through them effortlessly. He felt it probing through his mind, trying to gain his control over his motor functions.

"I know what you're trying." Switch managed to say. He struck back at the wolf's mind, pushing it away. There was a shockwave of psychic energy. The wolf struck back, pushing forward slowly. _I can't beat Lobo in a mental fight. I need a different plan. But what...?_

"I will destroy the madness in you!" Switch struck again. The resulting shockwave knocked over everyone remaining in the room. _Psychic energy, interrupting motor functions since whenever._ The wolf unleashed his full power, and Switch stopped fighting. The wolf slammed into his mind in an instant. Switch shot up his mental shields, trapping the wolf. Its body slumped to the floor.

"Now then... I've trapped your mind in mine..." Switch gloated.

_"You will surrender your body!"_ The wolf spoke through Switch, amplifying his voice with telepathy.

"That's new... Wait... Nevermind." _He has body-walked before._

_"I will seize control then!"_

"Risky move time!"

_"Prepare to die!"_

"Flandre! Break me! Quick!"

_"What are you doing!?"_

_I know I'm not strong enough mentally to beat you,_ he thought to himself.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Just do it!"  
_"Don't!"_

"You're confusing me! Go away!"

"Hurry! Before he gains control!"

_"Don't do it!"_ The large amount of voices yelling scared her, and she freaked out. With a quick crushing motion, she destroyed the problem. There was silence for a moment, before Flandre began crying from the stress of the situation. Sakuya quickly brought her to her room in the basement to prevent any more destruction. Over in the middle of the room the fight took place in, the wolf stirred, and woke. Everyone, save for Rumia, who was still sleeping, went on guard for a moment as he stood up, rubbing his head.

_"What just happened?"_ he asked, very confused.

"What's your name?" Remilia ignored the question.

"_Lobo, aide to the Scythe-Wielders. What happened?_" he asked again.

"Your friend Switch was just destroyed by Flandre." she answered.

"That was a lucky gamble," Lobo said after a moment.

"Your friend was just killed, and you say you're lucky!?" It was obvious she was holding back most of her anger.

"Just give me a moment," came the answer. A few seconds later, there was the sound of rushing air as a cloud of darkness flowed out of Lobo and swirled turbulently next to him. The darkness cleared a moment later to reveal none other than the previously deceased Scythe-Wielder.

"Man, that hurt!" he said once he was completely formed. His coat was mysteriously absent, so he was in a basic tunic and pants now, "And where the hell did my coat go! I swear, I need another one every other day." Everyone stared in shock for a moment.

"What just happened!?" Remilia exclaimed.

"A really big gamble. I trapped Lobo in my mind, intending to allow Flandre to destroy my body. I was banking on Lobo using all of his force to flee into his mind so his consciousness wouldn't be destroyed. He did that, and I latched onto his mind. Flandre destroyed an uninhabited body. From there, I just stepped out of Lobo's mind."

"That makes no sense!"

_"Do not concern yourself with Scythe-Wielder biology. He doesn't follow the rules of this reality, mostly."_ Lobo said.

"I follow most of them!" Switch objected, "Granted I'm not strong enough to break most of them, but still! Anyway... On to the next problem. Why the hell are you humanoid!?"

_"My guess is as good as yours,"_ Lobo answered. He seemed to be unused to speaking, and so was augmenting his voice with his telepathy.

"And why did you go insane?" Remilia prompted.

_"Well... I'm not used to being in a human body..._" Lobo answered hesitantly.

"Lobo," Switch got his attention.

_"Yes?_" He asked, bracing for what was coming. Switch answered by kicking him through the previously made hole, not intending to damage the mansion anymore.

"I'll fix that," he said, and looked around the room, at the craters made during the battle, "And those too, I guess..."

"Just get to it, and when you're done, leave," Remilia sighed, regretting the fight, "Meiling, you're free to go back to your post. And leave the darkness Youkai. I don't know why he brought her, but he must have struck a deal of some sort." She turned and left just as Switch climbed through the hole in the wall and helped Lobo to his feet.

"You are helping. You're the one who got us into this mess after all." It was only now that Switch got a good look at Lobo in his human form. He was at least a head taller than Switch and more heavily built. His hair wasn't short, but also wasn't very long, and it was bristly and dark grey in colour. On his head was a pair of wolf ears the same colour as his hair. He was wearing a black and blue clothes of some sort, that Switch couldn't identify, which Sakuya had probably got for him, that was a bit tore up from the previous fight, but not by much. His tail peeked through from underneath it a bit.

"We're gonna have to find out what happened. First things first though! How are we going to fix this? All the bricks are smashed..." Switch went into thought for a moment. "I know! I'll be right back!" Switch raced out faster than Lobo could react. He was back a moment later, carrying a large rock. "Good thing I remembered this!" he said, setting it down roughly.

_"That's great, what are you intending to do with it?"_ Lobo asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Let's see here..." he lifted it back up and placed it in the hole. "It fits! Now we just need to cut off the protruding parts and make it look like bricks."

"What's going on?" a childish voice sounded behind him, causing both of them to jump.

"So you finally woke up? You slept through at least four separate sonic booms, how is that possible!?" Switch was amazed.

"I was tired," she replied, and paused for a moment, confused, before asking, "Who's he?"

_"My name is Lobo, aide to the Scythe-Wielders,_" he introduced himself.

"You don't have to add on that last part every time," Switch explained.

_"Force of habit, my apologies,"_ Lobo responded.

"I'm Rumia!"

_"Pleased to meet you, Rumia. If you don't mind my asking, why are you with Switch?"_

"Long story short," Switch replied, "After you ran off, she tracked you down."

_"How is that possible, I was masking my presence."_

"You smelled funny, like a wolf!" Rumia answered.

"That's because he is a wolf. Now, back to the task at hand," Switch steered the conversation back in that direction.

_"How are we going to cut off the other end?"_ Lobo asked.

"Let's see here, some of the gaps between the rock and the wall are big enough to fit my scythe through, just stand on the other side, and I'll hand it to you when I'm done over here." Switch decided, removing the rock from the hole. Lobo stepped through and Switch returned the rock. "Now I just need to cut it," he reached for his belt. A feeling of dread washed over him when he didn't feel anything. "Um... Lobo? We have a problem."

_"What would that be?"_ his voice came through the wall.

"My scythe is missing," there was no response from the other side for a while.

**_"What!?"_** Lobo roared after a moment. _"How did you manage to lose that of all things!"_

"I don't know! Now what are we supposed to do!" Switch was growing desperate.

_"If I was over there, I would kick you through this wall,"_ Lobo threatened a moment before Sakuya appeared.

"Here's the wolf's armour. Lady Patchouli is done studying it." she said.

_"Perfect!"_ Lobo cheered, having come up with an idea, _"Now, use the flattest piece you can find, and use it to shear the rock."_ Sakuya stayed to watch, intrigued.

"Alright," he studied the armour, "One of the shoulder pieces should work, now I just need something to hammer it with." Lobo slid a mostly intact brick through one of the gaps in response. Switch hammered it just enough to lodge it in. "Here goes nothing," he struck the armour piece. There was a large boom, and the end of the rock fell off. "Seems smooth enough," he passed the makeshift tools through the gap, "Your turn." Another boom sounded. "Did it work?"

_"The brick disintegrated."_ Lobo responded.

"That's because you hesitated. You have to strike the armour, knowing the brick won't break. Think back to the mach 4 incident." A moment later, there was another boom.

_"It worked."_ he said quietly.

"Now then, we're done here. Next on our to do list is find out why you changed, locate my scythe, and kill the Agent, not necessarily in that order."

"We still need to fill in the gaps and fix the craters." Lobo reminded. Sakuya left the room at that moment.

"Oh, right. I'll get the craters, you get the gaps, Rumia... Just stand there and do whatever it is Rumias do." Soon enough the gaps and craters were filled in, though they still stood out, as the rock was a different colour than the bricks.

"All right then, how are we going to get the colour to match?" Switch pondered.

_"Do you still have that shadow fire?"_ Lobo asked, still on the other side of the wall,_ "and how am I supposed to get back?"_

"I'm not an Agent of Chaos or anything, but yes, I still have it. I don't see how that's supposed to help."

_"Try burning the rock. Not enough to melt it though,"_ Lobo suggested.

"Rocks don't work that way," Switch said.

_"How about this, is there any brick dust around you?"_

"A lot of it."

_"Melt that, and allow it to solidify on the rock. That should work."_ Lobo instructed. Switch got to work, gathering all of the dust into one pile.

"I'm going to have to use your armour so I don't melt my hands," Switch alerted.

_"Go ahead. Not even the fires of an Agent of Chaos can melt it."_ Lobo responded. Switch gathered most of the dust in the helmet, as it was the only suitable thing. He then bathed it in his black fire, The dust melted quickly, while the death silver armour remained unscathed. He splashed the molten brick over any odd-coloured patch, and smoothed it over evenly using his hand. He crinkled his nose at the smell of his burning hand. Before he knew it, maybe because his hand being on fire made the time seem to blur together, he had finished. The solidified brick matched everything.

"There we go," he admired his work, "Did a pretty good job on such short notice." He felt a gnawing on his hand. He looked down to see Rumia chewing on it. "You're weird, you know that?" he lifted up his hand, she remained attached. After a moment, he pried her off.

"It smelled so good though!" she complained.

"I don't taste better cooked than raw," he said.

_"Are you going to fix over here?"_ Lobo called from across the wall.

"That won't be necessary," a new voice came from the entrance. Switch turned to her. "I'll have Sakuya fix it later." The newcomer was a somewhat short girl dressed in a pink and purple striped pajama-like dress and purple nightcap. She had long, purple hair, floated a few inches off the ground, and a book was tucked under one arm.

"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?" Switch was skeptical.

_"What's going on over there."_ Lobo called. _"I would like to know"_ In response, the girl opened up her book and began chanting something. In a flash of light, Lobo materialised next to Switch.

"I was informed by Sakuya that you are looking for the cause of a mysterious transformation. I may have the answers you are looking for, provided I can study you." she explained.

"I don't see why not," Switch decided after a moment of thought.

"Follow me then," she turned and floated out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry if the chapters seem weird. I'm terrible at dividing up stories.

* * *

Upon pushing through a large set of double doors the purple girl led them to, the group was greeted by a truly massive library. Switch and Lobo were taken aback by how vast it was, while Rumia remained indifferent, and the purple girl was obviously used to it.

"This way," she reminded, leading them to a large, simple, wooden desk. Various notes and opened books covered the surface, and it was surrounded by large piles of closed books. "Now then," she stopped and picked up a few notes, some more books, and surprisingly, a ballpoint pen, "Describe to me what happened."

"Let's see here... We showed up to this world. Shortly after arriving, Lobo here started acting strangely. I think he was affected by the concentration of magic. I was hit in the head by Rumia then, so I don't know if that's when he transformed."

"So you're otherworlders, not outsiders," she guessed.

_"That would be correct,"_ Lobo answered.

"This is a simple case then," she responded, scribbling some notes down, "I just need to know one last thing before I can ascertain my theory. What is your age?"

_"I've lost track. I've lived for far longer than most creatures."_ Lobo explained.

"Very simple case then," she flipped open her book, "After living to a certain age, many animals become Youkai. At least, that is so in this world. Many of these Youkai take on human features. You have lived more than long enough to become a Youkai. This, combined with the intense magic concentration, changed you rapidly. This was probably very painful, am I correct in my assumption?"

_"Yes, it was unlike anything I have ever felt before."_

"This transformation likely also drove you insane temporarily, which must be the case, given all the noise I heard earlier."

_"That is also correct."_

"There's the answer. Hardly a fitting problem for the payment. Now then, I want to do some experiments. What are you capable of, otherworlders?" She continued right on to the next part of business.  
"What are we capable of?" Switch repeated, seeing if he heard her right.

"Yes. What can you do?" she reiterated.

"Uh, we should probably do the testing outside. I don't want to cause any collateral damage."

"Fine, we shall move outside." she turned and led the way.

* * *

The group now stood in the clearing inside the walls of the SDM. The sun that had stood overhead so recently was now beginning to set.

"I don't believe we've introduced ourselves," Switch remembered.

"Now's not the time for formalities." she said, ready to get on with the experiments.

"Now is as good a time as any," Switch insisted, "My name is Switch-Scythe, or Switch for short, and this is Lobo."

"Patchouli Knowledge, now, let's get to the experiment. First, a test of strength." Patchouli summoned a very large, roughly spherical rock, about the height of Lobo. "Attempt to lift that."

_"I shall attempt first,"_ Lobo stepped forward. He reached under the rock and got a good grip, and lifted it up above his head easily. _"I've lifted more in my wolf form,"_ he noted, and tossed it down haphazardly.

"That light, really?" Switch asked, and proceeded to lift it. "Yep, light." Patchouli raised an eyebrow.

"What are you capable of lifting then?" she asked.

"Let's see here..." Switch leapt onto the SDM and looked around. "Heaviest thing within sight..." He leapt straight to the forest. A large creaking sound was heard for a bit, and he came back holding a large tree. "It was a pain uprooting this." he said, a very slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

_"Impressive,"_ Lobo responded monotonously.

"Oh come on, you can't even manage that."  
_"I've never been able to try."_

"Oh, right. Catch," he tossed the tree at Lobo. He panicked for a moment, but successfully caught it.

_"This thing is heavy..."_ He feigned strain, and tossed it over the wall and into the lake.

"Next, I want to test your magic-using abilities," Patchouli moved on quickly, scribbling some things down in her book.

"Um... Neither of us can use magic." Switch explained.

"Well, you must be augmenting your strength somehow, if you managed those feats." she pointed out.

"As you already know, we don't come from this world. By "this world," I mean this universe, this reality has a whole. We come from a different one, and the difference in the rules between our realities means that those with special training, such as ourselves, can mostly ignore the rules of this reality. Though we are still affected by some, as evidenced by Lobo's transformation." Switch elaborated.  
_"I have done some research on this myself,"_ Lobo took over, _"And I have determined some of the limits of this. By ignoring some of the laws, such as gravity, we are able to lift objects much heavier than normal. Switch has had more training than I, and so is able to ignore the laws better. It doesn't help that I am still a living being, so I am more affected by the laws than he is."_

"Interesting," Patchouli began scribbling some more things down in her book, "Living being?"

_"Lobo is still alive, I died many years ago,"_ Switch didn't elaborate beyond that.

"Unusual..." more scribbling, "So what are the extents of your abilities?" She began rifling through the other books she brought.

_"We are capable of influencing the qualities of any object we have direct control over. That's what keeps my armour and the Scythe-Wielder's weapons in one piece at the levels we do combat at."_

"May I see your weapons?" she asked.

"I sort of lost it," Switch said guiltily.

_"It is made of the same material as the armour of mine you studied earlier,"_ Lobo explained.

"Interesting..." she jotted more notes down in her book, "What do you mean by direct control?"

_"Any object we are holding, and can directly influence that way. The Scythe-Wielders are incapable of extending their influence to sentient beings, who can act out even when held. I am an exception to that though, as I am capable of controlling people through their mind."_

"Alright," she jotted down a few more things while speaking, "Now then, I'm going to run some magical tests."

"Magical tests?" Switch asked.

"I'm going to throw some spells at you," she hurled a fireball at him midway through her reply.

"Holy sh-" he was cut off as he narrowly dodged it, "What was that for!?"

"Experimenting," she replied simply, "Now let yourself be hit, I want to see how it affects you."

"The same way other people react when hit with a magical fireball!"

"Really?" she scribbled something else, "How about the wolf then?" she threw a spell at him. The fireball hit him, and seemed to slide off, leaving him completely unscathed. "Interesting..." she commented, before throwing another at him. This one reacted the same as the last. She formed a spear of metal and sent that at him too. It struck him at an angle and glanced off harmlessly. Frowning, she sent another spear at him, which struck the center of his chest and seemed to pass through him. She then summoned a spout of water at his feet, which didn't phase him in the slightest. It was obvious at this point that she was becoming a bit agitated. Her book flipped open, and she drew a spell card. "Fire Metal Sign: Saint Elmo's Pillar!" she announced, throwing a ball at Lobo's feet which erupted into a large, fiery pillar. The flame and smoke cleared after a moment, revealing an unscathed Lobo. She pulled out another spell card and announced it, "Earth Water Sign: Noachian Deluge!" A large, heavy stream of water erupted out of the hand she pointed at Lobo. As usual, he remained unaffected. He put on a bored face, as if mocking her. "Alright then," she pulled out another spell card, "Sun Sign: Royal Flare!" A small sun appeared above her, burning everything around her. After a few seconds, it vanished. Patchouli began panting and wheezing a bit.

"That hurt," Switch pushed himself up off the ground, looking a bit charred. He hadn't expected to be caught in the crossfire. After catching her breath, Patchouli looked up to where Lobo was standing. Lo and behold, he was perfectly fine.

"What?" she managed to ask.

_"Magic aimed at me cannot touch me."_ Lobo answered.

"How did Meiling hit you then?" Switch asked.

_"That was more physical than magical, and I wasn't in the right state of mind to redirect the magic."_

"Interesting..." Patchouli scribbled some more things down in her book, "How is it that you can avoid magic?"

_"Magic relies on the power of one's mind, and the intent behind using it. Those who direct a spell at me, also direct their intent. Their intent is keyed onto my mind, and the psychic energy constantly flowing off of it. This intent forms a path, which guides the spell. If I operate fast enough, I can redirect the path of intent around me. The metal spear which you sent through me earlier was actually directed around me, just around me temporally, since I was unable to redirect it spatially. I am unable to redirect unaimed spells, or spells that were deflected off of something else, as the path of intent isn't there."_

"This could be a breakthrough," she mumbled, writing Lobo's explanation down in her book. She closed it immediately after finishing. "Experimentation is done for today, I need to rest. Meet me tomorrow." She turned to leave.

"Wait," Switch stopped her, "Could we search your library? We need to figure out how to reverse Lobo's transformation." She paused for a few minutes, considering it.

"Tomorrow," she answered, "I too would like to know if you manage to reverse it. Besides, the black-white hasn't dropped by in a while, so I'd like my books to remain unstolen," With that she left. Switch sighed, not completely understanding that last sentence.

"Alright then. Next things on our to-do list, find my scythe, find the Agent, and find Rumia a snack," he added the last one after feeling teeth on his hand yet again, "Not necessarily in that order." He lifted Rumia onto his back and started towards the gate.

_"Why are we bringing her with us?"_ Lobo asked, following.

"Never feed the wildlife. Besides, I try to keep my promises." Switch answered.

_"What did you promise? I really hope it isn't anything reality altering."_

"I just promised a snack."

_"Good. Speaking of which, I'm going hunting. It has been a while since I've had anything to eat,"_ he said before disappearing.

"Where'd he go?" Switch heard Meiling ask.

"You heard him, out hunting." Switch answered, "and is it just me, or has the lake gotten mistier?"

"It's always been like that." she replied simply.

"I coulda swore I could see across it earlier." he noted.

"Hey! Let go of my friend!" a voice yelled from somewhere within the mist.

"What?" Switch was confused.

"I'll beat the crud outta you!" it yelled again.

"Is that a challenge?" he yelled back.

"It is!" came the reply. Switch was fairly certain it was a she, and a young one by the sound of it.

"Bring it! I need the exercise!" to Rumia he added, "hold on for your life."

"Ice Sign: Icicle Fall!" she announced. Shards of ice flew at Switch from inside the mist. He leapt through the nearest gap, and began analyzing everything. _All right. These are the traditional spell card rules._ He dodged through another gap. _I just need to avoid the bullets. Easy enough._ He twisted around another. _I lack spell cards, so I'm going to have to dodge them until she gets tired._ He leapt over another volley. _And carrying Rumia is the perfect handicap._ His ceaseless dodging elicited a response from his assailant.

"Aren't you gonna fire back!?" she yelled.

"That'd be too easy!" Switch called back.

"I'll show you easy! Wait... That didn't come out right!" he laughed at her words. "Stop laughing! Hail Sign: Hailstorm!" Rows of ice shards shot out from inside the mist, scattering in every direction after a moment.

"This is going to get rough," Switch noted, studying the pattern. He began weaving through any gap possible, using every sense at his disposal to know the location of every bullet. _If I can get close enough to her, I might be able to anger her enough and prompt her to waste her energy faster._ He ducked out of the way of a shard aimed at his head. _The angrier your opponent is, the more mistakes they make._

"How is it that you can see me but I can't see you?" Switch asked, hoping to distract her slightly.

"You can see her," it was Rumia that answered, "she just blends in with the lake and mist really well."

"Good to know," he began speeding up gradually enough that it wouldn't affect Rumia. Soon he was moving at the necessary speed. He thought he heard Rumia say something, but couldn't hear her over the wind. Timing the gaps, he leapt out onto the lake, skipping over the surface of the water. Soon, he was close enough to see his assailant clearly. She was small, about the size of Rumia, and was wearing a blue dress with a lighter pattern on the hem. Her hair, which was also blue, was tied up in a greenish ribbon. On her back was what appeared to be six wings made of ice. He leapt over and behind her, tapping her on the shoulder the moment his foot touched water. She was cold to the touch, even the air around her was chillier. By the time she had turned around to confront him, he was already on the other side. He repeated the process a few times. Eventually, this prompted her to raise another spell card. He had no idea what it was, but judging by how much she was shaking in anger, it probably wasn't very good. He jumped back to avoid the incoming barrage. That very moment, she unleashed a massive, multi-coloured barrage of bullets. She had thrown out more bullets than Switch thought possible, and he had a tough time trying to fit through the gaps with Rumia. After a few seconds of that, there was a blast of cold air, and all of the bullets froze over and stopped. She unleashed another barrage at him. He analyzed the situation as quickly as possible. There was a huge cluster of bullets headed straight for him, and not much room to dodge out of the way due to all the bullets hanging around. _Making people angrier doesn't work in spell card duels,_ he noted, _It just makes them throw more bullets your way._ There was no gap large enough to fit both him and Rumia, so he took a big risk. He threw Rumia through one of the gaps, and sped up. He squeezed through a few more gaps, and managed to catch up to where he tossed the ball of darkness, and caught her just in time. Now that he was out of that trap, he could move more freely. He began thinking quickly. _I need to end this soon. But I lack a spell card. I don't want to physically harm her, and Lobo isn't here to disable her. I'm moving too fast to talk to Rumia, and there's no guarantee she would agree. I don't want to lose this either. That leaves one option, break her concentration._ He danced over the water, back towards the SDM, while slowing. By the time he had reached land, he was slow enough to set down Rumia safely. The moment she was out of his grasp, he sped up again. He charged straight up to his assailant, moving faster than her eyes could see. He stopped directly in front of her, going from about mach 8 to zero in half a second. The sonic boom struck at the exact moment he seemed to appear in front of her, and yelled, "Boo!" This caused her to scream and falter, plunging herself into the lake. He fished her out, and brought her to shore. She was completely drenched and not at all happy.

"That was fun," he said once they were back on shore, "My name's Switch, what's yours?" This would hopefully prevent another attack.

"Cirno," she answered grumpily. I wounded her pride.

"Nice to meet you Cirno. Sorry for dumping you in the lake."

"You just got lucky," she mumbled.

"Sure did. I'm lucky I can react that fast." Switch said. Lobo showed up a moment later, carrying a few of something eel-like on a stick. "So, how'd the hunting go?"

_"We have more pressing issues. I found a food stand somewhere along the road, run by a Night Sparrow. I met someone else there. I think our problems may be much larger than anticipated,"_ he handed one of the sticks to Rumia.

"How so?" Switch frowned.

_"I met an Umbrella Youkai there. From what she told me, she was a Karakasa Obake, or in a more broad sense, a Tsukumogami. An item turned Youkai."_

"I don't think I like where this is going," Switch felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

_"If I have transformed here, there is a very real possibility that your scythe may turn as well. How long have you had it for?"_

"Since before I began my training, over 90 years ago." Switch answered.

_"This is much worse than I tho-**AAAAGGGHHH!**"_ Lobo got cut off with yelp.

"Your tail is soft," Cirno was hugging his tail.

_"You are cold! Release my tail! Unhand me at once!"_

"Lobo..." Switch warned.

_"My apologies, she surprised me. Think back to any event that may have caused you to lose your scythe."_

Switch thought for a moment, before answering, "There was that first incident, where Rumia ran into me head-first. I was only out for a moment though, and it wasn't that bad of a hit. Then there was my meeting with Meiling," she looked over upon hearing her name, "That was a very violent hit. Then there was my first meeting with Sakuya. I tumbled a bit upon being skewered. And finally, there was my fight with you and Remilia, which was very violent." Switch recalled.

_"We would have noticed if your scythe had fallen out during your battle with the vampire, as it was a small room. Therefore, we can discount that. Your first meeting with the dark one wasn't violent enough to throw the scythe from your pocket either. So that is also ruled out. That leaves either where you met with the gatekeeper, or had a run in with the maid. Our search area is significantly reduced."_ Lobo deduced.

"Alright then. Let's get searching. Rumia, you search over by the forest. Lobo, you search by the door to the mansion." Switch began organising everyone. "Meiling, have you seen a small black rod around here?"

"Nope. Though I haven't looked for anything." she answered.

"We are going to scour this area then. Cirno, go help whoever you want."

"You can't boss me around!" the fairy objected.

"Okay," Switch turned and began searching. He was hoping this abrupt response would be enough to persuade her, or at least prompt her to join Rumia. He made a mental note to stuff his extra pockets with briberies for his next mission. Eventually, she got bored and wandered off. It wasn't a big loss.


	4. Chapter 4

Night had fallen by the time everyone had given up the search. No one had any luck, so his scythe was still missing. The group now stood in front of the gate. Lobo was staring up at the crescent moon, as if entranced by it.

"Well, that's disappointing," Switch broke the silence. No one responded to him. Cirno was already long gone by now, Meiling had taken up her position by the gate, only Rumia remained nearby for some reason. Switch was about to speak up again, when a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"So you're still around," the voice was that of Remilia. He turned around to face her. She stood just outside the gate. It was far too dark to see clearly, so only her red glowing eyes and a vague outline were visible.

"We don't have anywhere to go. There are no leads on the Agent we are searching for, and we have no idea where my scythe is." Switch explained.

"I'm not taking pity on you," she responded.

"Didn't expect you too. I was just going to wait around until morning, and then head in any direction, see if luck is on my side. It hasn't been recently..."

"Most Youkai are active at night though. You would probably have better luck right now."

_"We require suitable leads to advance. So I ask of you, Scarlet Princess, would you be willing to guide us? You know the surroundings much better than us."_ Lobo asked.

"Why don't you ask the darkness Youkai?" she sounded like she was pointing out something completely obvious.

"She's always in her darkness bubble, so she doesn't know her way around." Switch answered, prompting Remilia into thought for a moment.

"I'll guide you under two conditions," she finally decided, "One, whatever it is you're involved with, I want to take part."

"If you think you can handle it, feel free," he replied.

"Two, if you ever get spell cards, I want to be the first one to duel either of you. I'm not sure what you are capable of, wolf." she stated her second demand.

_"I agree to these demands. What about you?"_ Lobo turned to Switch.

"Perfectly acceptable," he responded.

_"Lead the way then, Scarlet Princess."_

"The mansion is safe under my watch, Lady Remilia!" Meiling saluted.

"Keep Sakuya inside the mansion. I snuck out for a reason," she instructed. Lobo opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment, and was stopped at the last moment from Switch clapping a hand over his mouth. Lobo really ran his mouth too readily sometimes. Remilia looked his way just as he had removed his hand. Thinking nothing was amiss, she turned back to the bridge and started across it. Switch breathed a sigh of relief, and followed.

* * *

Remilia walked at a slow, leisurely pace. As if she were just out for a midnight stroll, and that's probably how she thought of it. She didn't seem to be leading the group anywhere in particular. Just as Switch was about to ask though, Lobo seemed to perk up.

"What is it?" If he sensed something...

_"I smell him! He is nearby!"_ he almost yelled, prompting everyone to halt and look at him in confusion.

"Who!?" Switch wished he was less vague when he got excited.

_"The Agent! The scent of Chaos is overpowering! Where is he!?"_ He began looking around frantically. _"I've found him!"_ He took off in a seemingly random direction. Remilia charged off in pursuit a moment later, leaving Switch with Rumia. Not wanting to leave her behind, he picked her up and followed. They caught up a few moment later, and saw Lobo and Remilia staring down what he assumed was the Agent. This one was actually pretty "normal" for an Agent of Chaos, as it appeared humanoid. The Agent's face held a confused look, wondering why he was being stopped by a vampire and a wolf, upon seeing Switch though, his demeanor changed completely.

"So you're here after all!" the Agent yelled.

_"Well, aren't you the hammy one,"_ Lobo responded.

"Just got here," Switch answered, "I kind of thought you were going to be difficult to find."

"Well, _excuse me_ for being in the wrong place at the wrong time," it responded sarcastically.

"Well, if you were that easy to find, you must be that easy to kill. I'll let you decide how you want to fight. Or you can chose to run away with your tail between your legs, waiting to be hunted down later. I'm fine either way," Switch immediately became set on provoking him.

"You little! You're going to regret this!" Apparently this Agent was quick to anger. And of course, it went for the low blow first, attacking someone who wasn't Switch in order to spur him into action. The Agent lunged for Remilia, expecting an easy target. With impossibly quick reflexes, she blinked behind it and delivered a ferocious punch, which drove it into a tree. While this was going on, Switch had set down Rumia, and snapped a branch off of a nearby tree.

"Look up, scum!" Remilia hissed in anger, uppercutting the Agent when it peeled himself off the tree, "It's night! You can't hope to defeat the Scarlet Devil now!" It reeled from the punch, she shot forward and tackled it with incredible force, sending it flying.

"Alright! I thought you would have been an easy target!" it yelled, standing up, "Looks like you are going to feel my full power!" It shot forward at Remilia, only to be intercepted by Lobo. Time seemed to grind to a halt, as the battle accelerated to unholy speeds.

_That is unwise of you. You know who your targets are._ Lobo pushed up off of the Agent. The Agent stood as well. As soon as it was up, Lobo kicked it through a tree.

_I am unused to battling without my armour..._ He expected no one to respond, as they were moving too quickly for sound to be heard. The Agent shot out of the wreckage, and charged straight for Lobo. It was halted by a strike from Switch's branch though, and was sent through yet another tree. That strike was enough to shatter the branch, despite Switch's abilities. He was back to fists. The Agent came shooting back again, this time its hands were ablaze with its nearly atomic fire. It aimed straight for Lobo, who shrugged it off and flipped it into the air. Switch leapt, and slammed it into the ground in a ferocious throw. The Agent bounced, and regained its footing quickly. Switch threw another punch at it, though this time it caught him, and threw him straight up. It followed this up by delivering a powerful kick to Lobo, sending him flying back straight towards Remilia, who didn't appear to be moving, given the speed they were at.

_Shit!_ Lobo began thinking as quickly as he could. _If I strike her at this speed, she'll be vapourised. I am unable to alter my trajectory, and Switch will not be able to assist in time. This leaves one option in my box of tricks. Sorry,_ he apologised prematurely. He sent out his mind towards her, smashing through her mental defenses, and taking partial control of her body. I hope this will be enough. He struck her, and focused all of his energy towards keeping both of their bodies intact. It worked. Lobo got up as soon as he could and looked around. He didn't detect the Agent anywhere nearby. Neither was Switch though. He slowed down. Remilia got up, feeling a slight pain in her chest where Lobo had struck.

"What just happened!?" She wasn't happy. In the distance, sonic booms could frequently be heard. Two streaks of light, one red and one grey, appeared in the sky.

_"A battle is happening."_ Lobo responded simply. _"They are fighting airbourne at the moment, so I am unable to participate."_ The streaks of light continued to clash overhead, drawing farther away. _"If they come back this way, you must fight at your full power, moving as quickly as you can. But for now, we should probably retreat,"_ Lobo suggested, and turned to lead Remilia and Rumia away. There was a sudden, intense flash of light, and the world went dark for a moment. When his sight cleared, Lobo saw Switch standing over the broken body of the Agent, which flickered for a moment, before disappearing.

"Illusions!?" Switch shouted at where it no longer was. In that moment, his demeanor changed. While just a moment ago, he was burning loudly and ferociously like a red flame, he was now completely calm in his anger, like a quiet blue flame. "This will not end well for you." This was not a good sign.

The battle had been going relatively smoothly up until recently. Switch had the upper hand, and was all set to wrap this up even without his scythe. They had traversed Gensokyo very quickly, and were currently clashing around the border somewhere. This was when things took a turn for the worst, as the Agent had slammed Switch into the ground, and shot off towards where they had started the battle. In a matter of moments, Switch had calculated every reason the Agent would pull this trick. He ruled out ambushing Lobo, as the wolf would see it coming from a mile away, probably already knew he was heading that way. Remilia was probably already filled in, and so would fight at her full potential. That ruled her out. This left only one possibility. Rumia. He took off as fast as he could, hitting speeds he didn't know he could reach. In no time he had reached the starting point of the battle, the red blur of the Agent going nowhere fast. Just how fast am I moving? That thought could wait, as the Agent was a few meters from the group. He slammed into it with all of his force.

"Illusion?" Remilia asked.

"He used that illusion to escape. He tricked me. He has brought this upon himself..." Switch spoke quietly

_"Look on the bright side. He knew he couldn't beat us, so he fled."_ Lobo said.

"He was a coward who couldn't face me properly," he seemed to be feeding off of his own anger. Just as he looked like he was about to completely explode, a voice spoke up.

"Switch," Remilia got his attention, eyes glowing fiercely.

"Yes?" he turned to her. The anger in his voice still there.

**_WHAM_**

Switch collapsed like a lifeless doll. She withdrew her fist.

_"I do not approve of your methods,"_ Lobo said.

"We don't need him ruining everything in the area."

_"I am aware of that. I must say though, I am surprised you managed that in his enraged state."_

"Yes, well, what do we do with him now?"

_"We wait for him to wake, which may be awhile, because I think I heard a snap."_ Lobo lifted him up, then paused, sniffing the air. _"I smell vultures. Take care of it."_ He began walking off in the general direction of the mansion, angering Remilia.

"You can't order me around! And I never gave you permission to use my mansion!" she exclaimed. Lobo looked back and smirked.

_"You wished to participate in this, did you not? Prove to me that you are capable of handling it. Prove to me that you did not take into this deal lightly!"_ he spoke passionately. She was at a loss for a few moments, and stuttered a few times, before finally saying something comprehensible.

"All right..." she conceded.

"The Scythe-Wielder is incapacitated! This should be easy!" a familiar voice shouted.

_"Oh look, it's the vulture. I thought you fled to rest your wounds,"_ he didn't even turn around.

"I've been watching you from afar, to strike in your moment of weakness!" it exclaimed.

_"I always thought that Agents of Chaos were surprisingly predictable."_

"How about this," Remilia joined in, lifting into the air with the Agent, "If you can beat me at danmaku, you have a shot at those two."

"Fine by me! I'm undefeated!"

"Maybe against the ice fairy, but do you really think you can take me!? Two spell cards each, we time them out, and whoever is hit the most by the end loses." she declared the rules. Lobo finally decided to turn and watch, and beckoned Rumia, who had wandered too close to the imminent duel. "I'll even let you declare first."

"Prepare for your death! Anarchic Manifest: Chaotic Barrage!" it declared, and immediately unleashed what the name suggested. A myriad of colourful bullets were flung completely randomly. Remilia dodged effortlessly, and taunted it.  
"That's all! Sakuya's "Eternal Meek" is more difficult than this!" Soon enough, she had outlasted the spell card. "So that was it? Scarlet Sign "Scarlet Meister!" She shot the first scarlet barrage straight at it.

"OH SH-" it tried to exclaim, and was blasted by the barrage. It was knocked back, and recovered just in time for the second barrage she sent everywhere, which it managed to dodge. The rest of the spell card was uneventful. Other than the first trip-up, the Agent did somewhat decently.

"If I remain unhit for this spell card, I win," she said just as hers ended.

"Total Chaos: Pandora's Box!" It unleashed a very dense and chaotic crimson barrage in the general direction of Remilia. She hesitated for a moment, before taking off over the seemingly impenetrable wall. As soon as she was over it, the Agent engaged stage two of its card. The barrage halted, the bullets stopping randomly, and shot back, spreading out more. As the bullets were sparser, Remilia found it easier to dodge. Each time the bullets reached a certain distance from the Agent, they took off randomly in the general direction of said Agent. This wouldn't have been difficult, if the Agent hadn't sent out a greenish barrage similar to the first. Along with the first, randomly scattered shots, Remilia now had to dodge the wall coming her way, quickly. She barely managed that, and the bullets doubled back again. This was followed up by a third and final bright blue a great deal of effort, Remilia managed to weave through the densely packed blue pattern, and came out unscathed.

"I've won, enemy-of-mine! Now, scurry off with your tail between your legs like a good dog." she gloated. The Agent was seething with rage in a similar manner to Switch earlier.

"You! I'll kill you for ruining my chance!" He was just about to shoot forward, when Remilia said with cold voice.

"Bad choice. Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir!" she materialised a scarlet spear in her hand and sent it through the Agent's gut faster than anyone could react, sending it flying backwards a bit. "Next one goes through your head," she declared ominously. It gave a rebellious look, as if it wanted to fight back, but chose the wiser decision, and fled. Remilia lightly touched down next to Lobo.

"Now then, let's be off."


	5. Chapter 5

Switch opened his eyes slowly, a dull throbbing in the base of his neck and the back of his head. There was a small clicking sound, and it was gone.

"What the hell happened?" he sat up and looked around. He was in a red room of some sort, lying in a very soft bed. "Oh, right," his memories came back to him. There was that Agent, and the illusion, and then a flash of red... He looked about his person._ Still have my clothes, so I must not have been that injured. No coat still. Too bad, I liked that one. No scythe either. The hunt wasn't successful then. What should be my next course of action then?_ No one was in the room with him. He had no idea if anyone was nearby. _Well then..._ He was about to get up reluctantly, when a sound stopped him. Light footsteps nearby, voices, no psychic presence, steady wing beats, no chiming. _Must be Remilia. Quick, must act dead._ He had no idea why that was the first thought to come to mind, but he followed through regardless, and dropped like a lifeless doll again, pulling the blankets back over him. The footsteps continued a bit, nearly inaudible, and the door opened. The footsteps continued into the room a bit.

"Still asleep? The wolf was right, it would be a while. I almost regret hitting him that hard," that was the voice of Remilia.

"Almost?" another voice sounded, Switch thought he recognised it. "How hard was it?"

"Would you like to feel it?" Remilia responded sarcastically.

"That won't be necessary. He must be more powerful than I anticipated, if he managed to survive it though. Interesting..." the was the sound of turning pages, and some scribbling. Of course, Patchouli. "I would like to run some more tests..." she said regretfully.

"Not in this room, and probably not while he's out." _Probably!?_

"There's only so much insight the wolf can shed. I wonder what their kind is like..."

"The wolf took to the sword quite quickly. It was quite amazing to watch."_ So Lobo has a sword now. I wonder why..._

"Why did he want a weapon though?" Patchouli's thoughts echoed his own.

"Something about not being used to the human body being so useless. _'I would break my own teeth if I were to try and bite through someone's arm._'" Remilia answered, mimicking Lobo's voice.

"I wasn't aware you had spare swords lying around."

"I have a few, mostly for the sake of having them, and a few are just for art."

"That was one of my spells," she sounded like something got her attention, "The black-white rat must be here."

"Good luck," Remilia raised her voice slightly, calling to a leaving Patchouli, "and make sure to interrogate her. The scythe is still missing, and I fear they may never leave until they have it."_ Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence._ The room was silent for a moment, then Remilia released a sigh.

"Please wake up soon," her voice sounded weary. _I've been out for far too long._ "Your enemy has been back multiple times since you've been out. I'm not sure how much longer we can hold him off. The wolf says you would wake up on a moment's notice if you felt any of us were in danger, but I don't have his confidence." There was more silence for a bit. "I've been reading your fate recently. It keeps changing, but there is a basic pattern to it. Death must be your friend, if so few of your paths end in it. Though there was that one scarily close time... The wolf's fate is eerily close to yours. Whenever one of your paths of fate ends in death, so does his. I wonder about that sometimes... I've also noticed that in the future, in the far future, there is some kind of big event. It's enormous, and I've noticed something strange about it, it's as if your past meets your future there. What kind of event coming is large enough that your past meets your future? What I find even stranger? My own path meets yours there. What are you involved in, Scythe-Wielder? What is coming?" She sighed again, "Well, that's enough talking for now. I am too tired, and that enemy may be nearby. Oh, and Flandre wants to play when you wake up," she chuckled. There was silence in the room for a bit longer. A small breath stirred on his forehead, and Switch used all of his will to make sure he didn't twitch now. A moment later he heard the footsteps retreating. Switch waited for a bit after the door closed, listening to the retreating footsteps of Remilia, before sitting back up.

"How soon is it though?" he asked himself. "I really hope it isn't soon." A moment later, there was a brief gust of wind, as Sakuya appeared in the room. "Good morning!" Switch greeted, "Unless it's not morning... How long was I out for?"

"You're awake? I'll fetch the mistress and the wolf," she ignored his inquiry, and disappeared again.

"Alright then. Lobo will probably tell me."

_"Tell you what?"_ He arrived at that moment. Switch noticed his outfit was different from last time. He was wearing a white shirt, with a white puffy ball on the collar, and black and red puffy pants. On his hip was a sword, he thought it looked sort of like a scimitar.

"That was fast. Two things. One, how long was I out for?" Switch asked.

_"Two days."_ Lobo replied.

"That long?"

_"There were... complications... with the vampire's punch. They called over a doctor from some place called the "House of Eternity." According to her, there was several dislocated and shattered vertebrae, as well as something involving your brain I didn't quite catch. She was actually surprised you were still alive. It probably took you so long to heal because there was a lot of nervous system damage. On the bright side, it did help me develop some more theories on Scythe-Wielder biology..."_

"You're the only one who understands your theories, so spare me please," he joked.

_"They can't be that bad..._" His ears drooped.

"Look on the bright side, if we need an undecipherable code, we'll just use you!"

_"I am incapable of writing."_

"Not right now."

_"You are well aware of what I meant."_

"Of course. Anyway... number two. What is with that outfit?"

"Sakuya got that from the Tengu up on the mountain. I hear they want to meet him. There's not many wolf Youkai around here," Remilia stepped into the room, "And the Falchion is from my collection."

"Interesting... Though we do have important business."

"That scythe still?"

"I got something out of the black-white," Patchouli floated into the room, and paused upon noticing Switch, "Oh, you're awake. We have tests to run."

"Not now Patchy. What did you get out of her?" Remilia stopped her.

"Yes, that. She knows of someone who can find anything. A mouse by the name of Nazrin, affiliated with one Shou Toramaru of the Myouren Temple. We have tests to run now. I wonder what else I can learn that will aide against the black-white in such a significant way..."

"Really busy, but I promise we will allow more tests later. But perfect!" Switch cheered, "Now we just need to find this Nazrin and have them help!"

_"It's never that simple,"_ Lobo said.

"For once can't it be?" Switch sighed. A series of loud sounds outside, followed by some faint shouting answered his question.

"What is it Sakuya?" Remilia called out. Moments later, Sakuya came around the corner.

"Reimu is here, milady. Meiling has been holding her back, but she is pushing to get through. She appears to be angry about something, and is accusing you of sheltering the destruction of Gensokyo." she answered.

"That was thorough," Switch noted, and shot to his feet, "I can never resist a challenge, though I'm not the end of this world. My enemy would be."

"Tell her to wait in the clearing," Remilia ordered. She turned to Switch next, "Now listen, I don't need anymore damage to my mansion, so keep this as simple as you can." He nodded in response. "Good, now follow me."

Remilia led the pair to the door that lead into the courtyard, unable to go any further due to the sunlight. Switch noticed that it was about midday.

"Good luck," she said as they stepped outside. In the middle of the courtyard stood a girl in a red shrine maiden's outfit with white, unattached sleeves and a large red ribbon tied into her brownish black hair.

"You're the outsiders?" she asked when they were near enough.

"In a sense, yes." Switch responded.

"Why are you here?"

_"We seek another outsider, who poses a large threat to this world."_ Lobo answered this time.

"Another? That doesn't sound like a good thing. Outsiders aren't supposed to be here." she said, half to herself. "Especially not ones of your reported power..."

"We need to be here, to ensure this world remains intact."

"That just means I have to exterminate all the outsiders," she didn't listen to a word Switch said.

_"We are not escaping this without bloodshed, it seems,"_ Lobo noted.

"Unfortunately..." Switch wasn't very pleased with this.

"Do you know of the spell card rules, outsiders?" she spoke up again.

"Heard of them, don't have them. Seriously starting to consider getting them." Switch answered.

"That just makes it easier for me," she summoned multiple, differently coloured orbs around her. After a moment of circling, they scattered and homed in on the pair. The orbs swerved around Lobo, missing him completely. Switch was forced to evade though, and wove through a gap between them, heading straight for the shrine maiden. The orbs soon changed course and followed. She realised what he was planning, and moved out of the way. After that, while Switch was still busy trying to outmaneuver the colourful orbs, she turned back to Lobo, and sent several large yin-yang orbs his way. As these were unaimed, he was forced to dodge, which he did so quite easily.

"All right then," she threw hundreds of homing amulets at him. They riddled the ground around him, yet not a single one found its mark. "How!?" She yelled at him.

_"Never take your eyes off my partner,"_ he ignored her exclamation. She turned just as Switch shot past her, the orbs still in pursuit. There was a large explosion, and the smoke cleared soon, revealing an unscathed, and intangible shrine maiden.

"You've forced my trump card!" she yelled, "Fantasy Heaven!" Multiple orbs began spinning around her.

"This is unaimed. Run." Lobo did as commanded, and took off as quickly as he could in the opposite direction. "So, before my death. What's the secret here!?" Switch yelled up to her.

"Fantasy Heaven," Sakuya sounded next to him, "She floats away from reality and becomes untouchable." And disappeared again.

"Floats away from reality... Patchouli! You may want to watch this!" he yelled, and took off straight for the shrine maiden. The shrine maiden looked unworried as he approached, until he grabbed her, and pulled her back into reality in a giant hug.

"How!?" the fear was evident in her voice.

"Call off the attack or we both die," he ordered. Moments later the orbs faded out of existence. "Now will you listen carefully?" he felt her frenzied nod. He released her. "Nice to meet you, I'm Switch-Scythe, or Switch for short, the Ambassador of Twilight." Switch introduced himself.

"Reimu Hakurei, Shrine Maiden of Paradise," she remained wary of him.

"Now then, since we got that out of the way. What I was trying to tell you was that we are hunting down the outsider responsible for the upset balance here. We are going to find him, kill him, and leave. We pose no threat here." he explained.

"How did you counter my attack? No one has been able to do that." Reimu asked.

"I travel between realities, so when you flew away from this one, I was able to reach out of this reality as well and pull you back. There are advantages to being from a completely different world," Switch explained.

"So you are here, looking a for a different, more dangerous outsider?" she was making sure she had it right.

"Yep."

_"Though it is not really more dangerous than us, it just has the intent to do harm,"_ Lobo arrived, _"Greetings, I am Lobo, aide to the Scythe-Wielders."_

"So you have Youkai where you come from too?" she asked.

"Actually, no. Lobo is completely wolf, but something about the magic concentration here, combined with the laws of this world caused his unexpected transformation. We're trying to find out how to fix him." Switch answered.

"I know someone who might be able to help," she said, "though she only comes out when she wants to..."

"That makes us another step closer to fixing everything! Is there any way you can contact her directly? Or at least get her to come out?"

"Sorry, no. At least, I haven't found a way to y-"

_"Creature approaching quickly!"_ Lobo cut her off.

"Does it smell like the Agent?" Switch asked.

_"No, it doesn't."_

"Then why did you bring it up?" That moment there was a loud boom as someone new landed right next to them. She was wearing a white shirt similar to Lobo's and a black skirt. On her short blackish hair was a strange red hat with some white puffy things attached to strings coming off of it. _Too bad I'm not well versed in hat lore._ She carried a notebook that she was quickly scribbling things down in.

"You're the outsiders? I have so many questions to ask. You would allow an interview?" She spoke so quickly, that Switch needed a few seconds to understand what she had said.

"I actually have somewhere important I need to be. Take Lobo instead!" Switch responded equally hurried, and shoved his partner towards her, before shooting off in a completely different direction.

"Hey!" Lobo tried to object.

"You're the wolf! The White Wolf Tengu want to meet you! You're coming with me!" She grabbed his hand and took off.

_"Wait! Where are you bringing me!?"_ Then he realised he was flying and his demeanor changed completely, _"Release me at once! I am not supposed to fly! It's unnatural!"_ Reimu stood confused for a few seconds, before finally managing to say something.

"What just happened?" she asked. Remilia stepped out into the courtyard, Sakuya carrying a parasol for her. "And why are you awake?"

"A lot of confusing circumstances," the vampire answered. "It's very easy to understand if you know what happened. Where did you hear the news of the outsiders?"

"I heard the news from Rinnosuke," she replied.

"Approximately three days ago, the outsiders arrived. From what they've said, the wolf was a normal wolf until they arrived, upon arriving, he transformed in a very quick and painful manner, driving him temporarily insane. The wolf took off randomly, and Switch used the darkness Youkai to track him, which led them here. Meiling knocked both of them out, and Sakuya went to Kourindou to get an extra pair of clothes for the wolf, since we have nothing that could fit a male here," Remilia explained the chain of events.

"How did you know they were outsiders?"

"The wolf had some sort of armour that I had never seen before, and Switch wore a very strange outfit. Sakuya picked up on this too, and likely told Mr. Morichika the same thing. So, when you went to Kourindou recently, you likely heard this story from him, and how he heard it from Sakuya, who may have exaggerated a bit. The Tengu probably heard it just recently, and raced over here immediately."

"Final question, why did he take off?"

"Probably to escape the Tengu. He moves faster than even her. I daresay his speed rivals my own."

"You're full of it, aren't you?"

"It doesn't matter, he will show up soon anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

"Your fate is bound to his for a bit longer." There was another boom as Switch touched down.

"Going into orbit is not as fun as you would think," he said as he recovered, "It's difficult to find my way back."

"Orbit?" Remilia raised an eyebrow.

"May have overdone my escape plan. Now then, Lobo's off doing stuff, and I have two goals I need to reach. You said you were unable to contact the person who can change Lobo back, right?" he turned to Reimu.

"She only gets involved when she wants to," she repeated, "Though I wouldn't be surprised if she's watching us right now though."

"All right then, time to proceed with my original plan. I need you to lead me to the Myouren Temple."

"What business do you have with the Buddhists?"

"I need to speak to someone who can find anything, her name was Nazrin, if I remember correctly."

"I can't guarantee she will help you, but I can lead you there."

"We're going to have to walk," he said just as she began to lift-off.

"I saw you flying just a few moments ago."

"I can only fly at speeds that would make it impractical to follow you. Remilia or the Tengu from earlier could probably manage it, but I doubt you could." he explained. She took off anyway. "Great..." he mumbled, and began running after her. Remilia watched the two leave, yawning. She turned back towards her mansion, and noticed gave more orders to Sakuya.

"I'm going to sleep now. Do not let anyone bother me for any reason. I haven't slept in too long." Sakuya nodded in response, and Remilia stepped inside.

* * *

Seems like Switch is unbeatable, huh?  
Well actually, he is one of the weaker Scythe-Wielders. One of the notable things about Scythe-Wielders is, don't bend reality around them. It doesn't work.  
This is the end of the first arc. So, see you next update.


End file.
